We All Fall Down
by Kamakaze Kheri
Summary: After a fateful day in a bookstore Mariam realizes that everyone falls down, but with the help of friends everyone can get back up again. MaxxMar


**So here you go guys, a new Max and Mariam fic. I'm trying to decide if I should add another one shot before I start my new chapter fic or not... Hmmm... I don't know. I guess I better do a disclaimer and blah blah blah.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Max and Mariam who are property of Beyblade and I also do not own the book "We All Fall Down" whose title inspired me to write this one shot and well... you'll see what else it's used for in this fic. **

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She couldn't understand that whenever she was around him, it felt like it wasn't supposed to be.

Mariam would watch the way that Max acted around her and she could see that it was different than the way he acted around his other friends. He would be bubbly, happy and rather childish with them but whenever he graced her with his presence it was different. It was like he got older, more mature and, well, different. She couldn't figure it out.

It was one day that she was walking through a bookstore that Mariam realized just how her life worked.

Like many days that week Mariam had taken to spending time in a local bookshop, merely browsing for anything that might look interesting. She had decided to take a peek in the kids section, just to see what she could find, when she came across a book title that gave her a slight dizzy spell.

"We All Fall Down," she whispered to herself. She touched the spine of the book briefly before leaving the book shop quickly. She didn't return there for almost a year.

Today Mariam was with Max, the one other thing she still puzzled over. She would glance at him when he wasn't looking; watch him sleep on the grassy bank of the river before she would turn her gaze back to the glimmering water. It made her want to dive in and hope that all her fears would wash away with the stream. It took only a moment for her to shake the thought away and turn her attention back to the blonde boy who lay beside her.

She was just about to stand up and leave him when she heard Max speak.

"Am I bothering you, Mariam?"

The blue-haired girl looked into Max's shiny blue orbs, a look of question evident on her face and the boy sighed.

"What do you mean?" Mariam asked rather guiltily. She didn't want to trouble Max with her own problems and she gathered her composure quickly, the look of guilt and surprise replaced by a hard, cool mask.

"I mean, you look really... troubled," Max said as he stretched his arms above his head before neatly tucking them under his mop of blonde hair. "What's up?"

"Nothing, Max," Mariam replied, choosing to gaze out over the water. She could feel his gaze cutting into her and she turned and glared at him.

"It's never 'nothing' Mariam," Max said with a sigh as he turned his attention back to the sky. "Why won't you tell me?"

"Because really, Max, it's nothing you need to worry about," she snapped back. She watched Max cringe slightly and her expression softened a little. "Sorry, but I just don't know if I want you to have to know every single problem in my life."

"That's what I'm here for, partly," Max reminded. "A friend is supposed to be there for you Mariam, listen to your problems and thoughts. I can do that, easily."

The female 'blader looked sceptically over at Max. "You think you can handle it?" she asked with a bit of a smirk.

"Sure, sure," Max said nonchalantly. "Whatever it is."

Mariam glanced at Max. It wasn't even like he was paying attention, just staring up at the sky that matched his eyes perfectly.

"Fine," she growled. She saw the tips of Max's mouth turn up and she sighed. "Ever since I walked away from it, I've always wondered about the title."

Max cast her a confused glance and Mariam explained the book.

"We All Fall Down, eh?" Max asked and Mariam merely nodded. "Sounds like an... interesting book."

"Stop pulling this off topic, Max," Mariam scolded and the blonde instantly shut his mouth. "The thing is, I've been thinking about this ever since I left it behind: I fell down a long time ago, but I've never gotten up again. It's like I've been waiting for something, but I don't know what it is and until it arrives, I'll never get back to what I used to be."

"Oh Mariam."

In one swift instant Max was holding Mariam and she sat there, stiff in his arms until he let go. "Don't you see?" he asked her. "Don't you see what's really going on?"

She stared at him with question in her eyes and he sighed. "Mariam, we all fall down sometimes, but we can all get back up. I'm that person that will help you up no matter what, because let's face it: you and I are friends."

Mariam sighed, gazing at the blonde.

"But where will that take us Max?" she asked. "Where's that thing that I'm waiting for?"

"Right here," Max said while gesturing to the air around him. "Your friends care about you Mariam and as long as you're with them you're right where you need to be. You don't know what you're waiting for because you don't have to wait any longer. It's already here."

And it hit Mariam like a tonne of bricks.

Max was right. Everything already was there. It was only Mariam that needed to catch up to it. She had lost herself thinking of the things that mattered to her the most when she really should have been focusing on everything she loved in general.

"Oh Max!" she exclaimed, losing her composure. "You're absolutely right!"

"Aren't I always?" the blonde asked with a laugh and before he could say another word he was tumbling down the bank straight into the water.

"Mariam!" Max gasped as his head broke through the water again. The girl on the side of the bank laughed before being splashed by the cool water from the river.

"Hey!" she protested as she climbed higher up. She laughed and as she did so she thought about the day.

_She was laughing. She had found herself again and even better she had found out just what she needed in her life to keep herself balanced. Mariam was back and feeling more content than ever._

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**So how'd you like it? I know not a lot of people actually read my stories because I've only got two reviews on my other fics I think but that's okay because it's only a matter of time before more people realize that they like this pairing and will flock by the thousands. Just you wait and see! ^^ Haha. Thanks for reading. **


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